Mamaliga is a national Romanian food, but you may find it with Turkish, Italian, Hungarian and other cuisines for sure, also known around as ‘polenta’.
This recipe comes from my Turkish roots. I remember sleeping over at grandma’s house, and those mornings waking up to find freshly made warm mamaliga on the table covered in sizzling butter and salty, tangy crumbled Feta (brinza) cheese… –ohhhh… just perfect!
Servings: 6
Recipe ingredients:
For the Mamaliga
1 1/2 cups cornmeal
1 teaspoons salt
4 cups cold water
=================
For the toppings
2 Tbsp butter
4 Tbsp sour cream
1cup Feta cheese -crumbs
½ tomato- finely chopped
=====================
Recipe directions:
Bring 4 cups water to a boil in a pot, add salt.
Add the cornmeal to the boiling water, stirring constantly, bring it to boil again, reduce heat to low and simmer for 3-5 minutes. Turn off. With the spoon kind of divide the mixture in to three equal parts.
To platter or casserole dish add 1/3 of the cooked cornmeal, spread
Add ½ Tbsp. melted butter, spread over the cornmeal layer
Add 1 Tbsp. Feta cheese, spread over the butter
Repeat previous tree steps two more times
Top with tomatoes and sour cream.
Enjoy!!!
White Fish and Vegetable Casserole
White Fish and Vegetables baked in the flavorful tomato sauce.
This recipe makes any white fish juicy and delicious. Makes a fantastic meal when served with white jasmine rice or pasta.
Ingredients
- 6 white fish fillet (cod, tilapia, swai,)
- 1 large onion
- 2-3 large red bell peppers- different colors- julienned
- 1 can (28oz) crushed tomatoes
- 2 cloves of garlic, crushed
- 1 tsp. Old Bay seasoning
- Salt and black pepper
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup olive oil
Instructions
- Cut fish fillets into serving sizes. Season with salt and pepper and half of the Old Bay seasoning.
- Mix flour with rest of the Old Bay seasoning, add some salt and black pepper.
- Dip fish fillets into seasoned flour mixture and coat well on all sides.
- Place coated fish into pan with 1-2 tablespoon preheated oil.
- Fry until fish is golden brown on each side. (fish doesn’t have to be cooked all the way at this point)
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- In a skillet, heat 1 Tablespoon of oil on medium high heat and add the onions to the skillet. Sauté the onions for about 5 minutes, until they are soft.
- Add the bell peppers, crushed tomatoes and garlic. Season with salt and pepper. Cook for about 5 minutes.
- Spread a thin layer of vegetable mixture on the bottom of the deep baking dish.
- Place a layer of fish over the vegetables.
- Spread some more of the vegetables mixture over the fish.
- Continue layering until you finish the remaining fish and vegetable mixture.
- Cover with aluminum foil and bake in the oven for about 40-45 minutes. Fish should flake easily with a fork and vegetables soft
- Serve hot or cold.
- Enjoy!
Hi Inessa, I come from Moldova so this was a popular dish in my parents household while growing up, my mom still makes it, we eat it with fried fish, scrambled eggs, feta cheese, and garlic squished in water with salt, fried potatoes work great with this too, great post 🙂 reminds me of my childhood!!
Had this my first time at a Romanian food festival last week. Glad to have found this recipe cause I really wasn’t sure what i was eating at the time. Can’t say I loved it, only because it was something totally different than anything I have eaten. Maybe I will like this recipe better! I love trying different foods!
I wish I could give it 5 stars but the option is not available on Pinterest. I also would love to save it like as “Polenta Casserole” 🥘 – which is also not available. 😂